KILLING OURSELVES TO LIVE

Ethanol is widely touted as an eco-friendly, clean-burning fuel. But if every vehicle in the United States ran on fuel made primarily from ethanol instead of pure gasoline, the number of respiratory-related deaths and hospitalizations would likely increase, according to a new study by Stanford University atmospheric scientist Mark Z. Jacobson. His findings are published in the April 18 online edition of the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
"Ethanol is being promoted as a clean and renewable fuel that will reduce global warming and air pollution,'' said Jacobson, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering. ''But our results show that a high blend of ethanol poses an equal or greater risk to public health than gasoline, which already causes significant health damage.

''We found that E85 vehicles reduce atmospheric levels of two carcinogens, benzene and butadiene, but increase two others-formaldehyde and acetaldehyde,'' Jacobson said. ''As a result, cancer rates for E85 are likely to be similar to those for gasoline. However, in some parts of the country, E85 significantly increased ozone, a prime ingredient of smog.''

Inhaling ozone-even at low levels-can decrease lung capacity, inflame lung tissue, worsen asthma and impair the body's immune system, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The World Health Organization estimates that 800,000 people die each year from ozone and other chemicals in smog.

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Will sanity eventually triumph over our addiction to cheap gasoline to fuel our vehicles? Or will we become a fossilized part of the planet's history, doomed to extinction by our unhealthy love affair with the "infernal" combustion engine.

We like to tout humans as the most intelligent life on the planet. But how smart is it to go down a path that is leading to our destruction?

Whether we succumb to lung disease and cancers from breathing ethanol fumes or finally ignite a Nuclear WW III, fighting over oil fields in the Middle East, it won't matter to future generations, since we are currently signing their death warrants.

Signing our children's death warrants with ink made from blood.